L.A. Welcomes Collective confirmed the arrival Saturday of a bus sent by Texas with 39 asylum seekers on board, including 21 children, the youngest being 5 months old.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 26, 2023
Contact: Alicia Vargas; avargas@immdef.org
LOS ANGELES, CA —The L.A. Welcomes Collective, a network of immigrant rights, immigration legal services providers, and faith organizations, in coordination with the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles, confirmed Saturday the arrival of a 10th bus with 39 asylum seekers sent from Brownsville, Texas.
The bus arrived at Union Station at approximately 10:15 a.m. and included 12 families, among them 21 children and 19 adults. The youngest members of the group included a 5-month-old boy and a set of twins less than 2 years of age. The oldest member of the group is 52 years old.
Asylum seekers come from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.
The members of the LA Welcomes Collective are: Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA), Central American Resource Center-Los Angeles (CARECEN), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), and Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef).
The following statements can be attributed to each representative from the following members of the LA Welcomes Collective:
“Today Los Angeles welcomed the 10th bus of migrants from Texas this summer. Immigrant Defenders Law Center remains committed to providing legal guidance and support to migrants seeking protection in the United States. Together with our partner organizations we will lead by example and provide vital support to the most vulnerable with compassion and dignity. ImmDef again calls on Gov. Abbott and Texas state agencies to stop using human beings as political props and to divest from unsustainable and abhorrent anti-immigrant policies," said Lindsay Toczylowski, Executive Director, Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
"Showing discontent with federal immigration policies in no way justifies Governor Abbott placing children and families in a path to more danger, suffering, and heartbreak. It requires humane, compassionate leadership. It's a shame that's not what we are seeing displayed by the State of Texas," said Angelica Salas, Executive Director, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). “Each migrant arriving on this latest bus is human being deserving of compassion and dignity, with a legal right to seek asylum in this country. Esperanza is proud to be a part of the LA Welcomes Collaborative, supporting this population. Esperanza is steadfastly committed to providing legal assistance to individuals at risk of deportation,” said Kimberley Plotnik, Program Director, Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project.
"CARECEN, as part of the Los Angeles Welcomes Collective, continues to take unwavering action in unity and extend dignified welcome to migrants and refugees arriving today. While our resources remain limited, our hope is that through our humanitarian relief efforts, we can support refugee families in need of support and not let anti-immigrant efforts play with people’s lives," said Martha Arevalo, Executive Director, Central American Resources Center (CARECEN-Los Angeles). "Today we welcome again our family of migrants arriving with compassion and love. I hope this day they feel embrace and affirming of their humanity and dignity," said Guillermo Torres, Program Director, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), member of the Immigration Task Force, Cal-Pac Conference of the United Methodist Church. “With each bus that arrives to our city, we are reminded that many of our brothers and sisters around the world are suffering,” said Michael P. Donaldson Senior Director, Office of Life, Justice and Peace, Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “We are called to welcome them with love and dignity as they seek a safer life and will continue to do so as long as necessary.“
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Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends our immigrant communities against injustices in the legal system. We envision a future where no immigrant will be forced to face immigration court alone. Our programs are a first step towards the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. ImmDef is now the largest non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California with offices in Los Angeles, Adelanto, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego.